No ads on Utah school buses, House says

SALT LAKE CITY — Concerns about safety brought down a bill Monday that would have allowed advertisements on public school buses.

With a vote of 27-44, HB199 failed to pass the House body.

Rep. Don Ipson, R-St. George, said the ads would be distracting to other drivers. "We can never sacrifice the safety of our children to generate a few dollars," he said.

The bill would have allowed school districts to place ads on the sides of buses only.

Rep. Melvin Brown, R-Coalville, voiced concern, as a bus driver, that people might not realize the familiar yellow bus is indeed a school bus "if we desecrate the bus with an advertisement."

Rep. Jim Bird, R-West Jordan, disagreed.

"We're not painting the bus," Bird, the bill's sponsor said. "It's still yellow."

Brown also said that ads might cause students to lose respect for school buses, but Bird thinks that possibility is a nonissue. "Doesn't that begin in the home?" he said.

Although provisions in the bill would regulate the content of the ads, some legislators were still concerned that companies such as Blue Boutique and Planned Parenthood could advertise on the buses.

"I think this can get out of hand," said Majority Leader Brad Dee, R-Ogden.

Bird's main motivation for the bill is budget cuts in education, particularly in the Jordan School District.

When one of the 44 representatives who voted "no" supports the bill, the House can consider it again.

"It's not dead," Bird said. "It's mostly dead."

e-mail: averzello@desnews.com